Create a comic book

How you can help at home: Your child will learn to create his own family comic book. This activity builds writing and computer skills.

Have your child explore the concept of speech bubbles in reading conversations. She'll love making a comic book about family members and events. What a wonderful keepsake!

What you'll need:

Computer

Printer

Microsoft Word

Paper

Digital camera

Stapler

Digital photos or regular photos of family members

Here's how to do it:

If you're using digital photos, have your child insert the pictures of family members on to several pages. If needed, consult your software program's Help menu for directions on inserting photos.

For each person, help your child insert a callout shape for a speech bubble. To do this, go to the Drawing toolbar, click on AutoShapes, point to the Callouts and then click on the shape you want. Have your child type the thoughts or conversations that would be taking place in each photo into each callout shape. Help your child understand that the conversations should relate to the photos and the story. If you don't have digital photos, you can glue photos onto paper. Then print the speech bubbles, cut them out and glue them next to the photos. Print the pages and bind the book using a stapler.

Gayle Berthiaume was an award-winning first-grade teacher at Minnesota's Becker Primary School for 35 years. She currently trains teachers nationwide on ways to integrate technology into instruction. To learn more, visit Gayle Berthiaume Consulting.